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Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies filmography (1929–39)
This is a listing of all the animated shorts released by Warner Bros. under the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies banners between 1930 and 1939, plus the 1929 pilot film which was used to sell the Looney Tunes series to Leon Schlesinger and Warner Bros.. A total of 271 shorts were released during the 1930s. 1929 Bosko, a 1929 live-action short film produced to sell a series of Bosko cartoons, was never released to theaters, and therefore not seen by a wide audience until 71 years later on Cartoon Network's television special Toonheads: The Lost Cartoons on March 12, 2000, although in an edited form. The film was produced in May 1929, directed by Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising. In the film, a cartoonist (portrayed in live action by Rudolph Ising) draws Bosko, who comes to life. Bosko speaks, sings, dances and plays the piano before the cartoonist sucks him into his ink pen and pours him back into the inkwell. Bosko pops out of the bottle and promises to return. The full cartoon is present on disc 4 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 1 as a special feature. 1930 All cartoons are Looney Tunes starring Bosko and are all directed by Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising. All cartoons are scored by Frank Marsales. None of the primary characters of Looney Tunes would appear until 1935, and would appear in Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons until 1968. 1931 All cartoons are Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies starring Bosko, Foxy, Piggy, and other characters and are all directed by Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising. All cartoons are scored by Frank Marsales. This year marks the debut of the Merrie Melodies series. All Merrie Melodies cartoons are directed by Rudolf Ising, and all Looney Tunes cartoons after The Tree's Knees are directed by Hugh Harman. 1932 All cartoons are directed by Hugh Harman or Rudolf Ising. All cartoons are scored by Frank Marsales. 1933 All cartoons up until Buddy's Day Out, are scored by Frank Marsales. 1934 This year marks the beginning of production of color Merrie Melodies cartoons. For this year, most would still be in black and white up until Rhythm in the Bow. Also, starting with Honeymoon Hotel, the "I Think You're Ducky" theme was shortened. 1935 All Merrie Melodies cartoons are in 2-strip Technicolor (except where noted). 1936 All Merrie Melodies cartoons are in 3-strip Technicolor, except where noted. This year, the Merrie Melodies series adopts "Merrily We Roll Along" as its theme (the first cartoon to use this theme is Boulevardier from the Bronx). The Merrie Melodies series also begins using "target" opening and closing titles this year (starting with I Wanna Play House, minus the "zooming" WB shield). 1937 Starting this year, all Merrie Melodies cartoons are in 3-strip Technicolor and the Merrie Melodies "target" title sequences change colors, with a different color (or color blend) each year. The first new ring colors are a yellow-orange blend, which is first seen on I Wanna Be a Sailor. Also beginning this year, the Looney Tunes series adopts "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" as its theme (beginning with Rover's Rival). 1938 The opening rings in Merrie Melodies cartoons change colors yet again, changing to a yellow-green color blend that was first used in The Night Watchman. 1939 Starting with Porky and Teabiscuit, the Warner Bros. Present opening title appeared with "Warner Bros." in sans serif lettering on a yellow banner. Starting with Naughty But Mice, the Warner Bros. Present title was used again, but the "Warner Bros." lettering was in serifs. Starting with Wise Quacks, the Warner Bros. Present title was used once again, but without a yellow banner behind "Warner Bros.". Further reading *''Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons'', by Jerry Beck and Will Friedwald (1989), Henry Holt, ISBN 0-8050-0894-2 *''Chuck Amuck : the Life and Times of an Animated Cartoonist'' by Chuck Jones, published by Farrar Straus & Giroux, ISBN 0-374-12348-9 *''That's Not All, Folks!'' by Mel Blanc, Philip Bashe. Warner Books, ISBN 0-446-39089-5 (Softcover) ISBN 0-446-51244-3 (Hardcover) *''Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons'', Leonard Maltin, Revised Edition 1987, Plume ISBN 0-452-25993-2 (Softcover) ISBN 0-613-64753-X (Hardcover) See also *Looney Tunes *Merrie Melodies *Censored Eleven *Looney Tunes Golden Collection References External links *the Big Cartoon DataBase entry for Merrie Melodies Cartoons and for Looney Tunes Cartoons *[http://looney.goldenagecartoons.com Golden Age Cartoons' The Ultimate Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies Website by Jon Cooke] *"Warner Brothers Cartoon Companion", a wealth of trivia about the Warner cartoons *Official site *[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nt1J4k3sQQQ Bosko, the Talk-Ink Kid] available for viewing at YouTube Category:Lists of Looney Tunes cartoons Category:Slapstick films Category:Screwball comedy films